Hamas, the ruling party in Gaza, has launched a major, multi-pronged, surprise attack on Israel – 200 Israelis dead, 900 injured; Israeli forces are now bombing Gaza – 232 Palestinians dead, 1600 injured… Here is a rundown of this unfolding story.
by Kathryn Shihadah
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After decades of Israeli occupation and human rights abuses, and after a 20-month-long mass nonviolent effort, Palestinians in Gaza launched a surprise operation against Israel on early Saturday morning. Its scale is unprecedented, involving aerial, sea and ground operations. Israel immediately began bombing Gaza and has turned off electricity to the enclave, leaving most of its two million inhabitants in the dark and hospitals dangerously impacted. There are now 200 Israelis dead, 9000 injured, and an unknown number captured; and 232 Palestinians dead and 1,600 injured.
Israeli forces, partly funded by the $13 million dollars per day that U.S. politicians have voted for them, are one of the world’s most powerful militaries, their weaponry vastly dwarfing Palestinians’. Today’s Palestinian land incursions largely consisted of individuals riding motorcycles and pickup trucks.
Hamas spokesperson Khaled Qadomi told Al Jazeera that the group’s military operation is in “response to all the atrocities the Palestinians have faced over the decades,” and the Hamas deputy chief said the group is engaged “in a battle for freedom.” Hamas military chief Muhammad Deif explained: “We have decided to put an end to all of the occupation’s crimes”; senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh indicated that recent provocations at the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem were a major reason for the surprise attack.
Other Israeli provocations include increased violence against Palestinians by illegal Israeli settlers, Israel’s treatment of Palestinian prisoners, and a spike in killings of Palestinians by the Israeli military. The UN has said 2023 is the deadliest year for Palestinians since it started counting fatalities in 2006.
In October alone, Israeli soldiers killed 4 Palestinians (including youth), attacked a Palestinian funeral procession, abducted at least 75 (10 of them children), and shot or otherwise injured at least 100.
Hamas actions have so far included: launching thousands of rockets toward Israel (for background on rockets see this), infiltrating Israel by land, sea, and air, and taking prisoners of war which it hopes to exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Groups broke down the barrier wall that imprisons Gaza and entered several Israeli communities near the border. Fighters have also captured a number of Israeli military vehicles, in addition to the hostages.
After being surprised by the scope of the Palestinian offensive, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced, “Citizens of Israel, we are at war [and will] fight back on a scale and intensity that the enemy has so far not experienced. The enemy will pay an unprecedented price.”
According to Israeli Police Commissioner Yaakov Shabtai, the Israeli military is engaged in “a complex attack in the area around Gaza,” that at the time included 21 active fronts.
In Gaza, Israeli warplanes reportedly destroyed a 5-story residential building, hit a hospital, and targeted an ambulance.
Some media outlets refer to the Palestinian resistance fighters as “terrorists” – but under international law, armed resistance is the right of occupied people.
Critical context
Israel has held the 2 million Palestinians of Gaza under siege since 2007, blocking access to medical supplies, medicine, food, and many other staples. The people of Gaza staged a 20-month nonviolent protest against Israel from March 2018 till the beginning of the Covid pandemic in December 2020 – and were met with Israeli snipers and airstrikes that killed hundreds (NOTE: read about this protest, called the Great March of Return, here).
Mainstream media that describe Israel and Hamas as having fought “multiple wars” since the siege began, fail to contextualize the statement. Over 700,000 Palestinians were ethnically cleansed from their homes and villages in 1948; many of them and their descendants live in refugee camps in Palestine and scattered throughout the Arab world, awaiting their internationally guaranteed right of return. Millions have been under occupation since 1967; human rights organizations like Amnesty International consider Palestinians in the entire region to be living under apartheid rule.
US President Joe Biden has expressed solidarity with Israel and “fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself.
Separately, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has as history of helping Israel, declared that the US “unequivocally condemns the appalling attacks by Hamas terrorists against Israel, including civilians and civilian communities.”
